Eastbourne v Glasgow Semi Final

[HenryW]

4 minutes ago, The Doctor... said:

Just back after a thoroughly enjoyable night down there as a neutral.

Others have described the events well, and it was directly in front of us so we had a ringside seat of it all.  Cook pathetic frankly and should get a ban, although there were a few swings and a few kicks aimed by others.  I thought one of the boot swingers was Martin Dugard but it happened so quick it might have been someone else similarly dressed.

The comments made pre-meeting over the mic by Jon Cook, Dugard and the announcer wound things up definitely tho and i even said to the person i was with, that Craig Cook is unstable at the best of times and i forecast some kind of kick off with him at some point.  That some point was about a minute later tho which was a bit quicker than i figured tho.

No idea what went on with Cook and his 2 mins exclusion but instead of perhaps winning his first and shutting the crowd up for a bit, by the time he came out the meeting was pretty much gone. it was as if the whole team had lost their nerve and the tie was a dead duck very early really.  

Lovely day in general tho - fish and chips, ice cream, few lagers and the speedway all made for a good day out.

Kudos to the glasgow fans who travelled - and also very sane words from their promoter chap who spoke and spoke well after the meeting.

I was a neutral tonight and loved every minute of it tho.  

That little bit of instability from Cookie is part of what makes him great when he is racing for you....I loved it when he was a Monarch.

Now he is a Tiger, I agree he should get a ban 

There is always something going on at Eastbourne and always has been....I still have memories of visits there in the 80s and 90s where we came away infuriated at how things had gone down, usually with Bob Dugard at the centre of events. It's nice to hear that Martin is keeping the family tradition alive!

[BWitcher]

42 minutes ago, HenryW said:

 

There is always something going on at Eastbourne and always has been....I still have memories of visits there in the 80s and 90s where we came away infuriated at how things had gone down, usually with Bob Dugard at the centre of events. It's nice to hear that Martin is keeping the family tradition alive!

Spot on.

There were several all out brawls back in the day with Wolves... messrs Dugard, Barker and Norris usually at the centre of it.

[SharpenRake]

2 hours ago, Richard Weston said:

As I said before, it was Craig Cook who bears the responsibility. 

Shameful that he should ride his bike into a member of the track staff who was trying to protect other riders, officials and CHILDREN. 

The SCB must act.

We get it Richard still a pity you can't acknowledge what the neutrals and sensible Eastbourne fans are saying. You'll be on the side of those that thought Eric Cantona should have a lifetime ban or even longer. 

[jenga]

4 hours ago, Tellitasitis said:

Only way Craig Cooks future is precarious is if he lets off a fire extinguisher in a hotel 

that will be the fire extinquisher that saves lives in the event of a fire then . 

[JanAndersen]

Craig Cook has very little between the ears. He feels the need to prove this on a fairly regular basis these days. 

[Endeavour]

7 hours ago, SharpenRake said:

And everyone else walks away scot free (see what I did there). How about announcer being fined. Jon Cook losing his licence, the track staff member ejected from the stadium given a life ban.

Get a grip.

[Mr Blobby]

6 hours ago, The Doctor... said:

Just back after a thoroughly enjoyable night down there as a neutral.

Others have described the events well, and it was directly in front of us so we had a ringside seat of it all.  Cook pathetic frankly and should get a ban, although there were a few swings and a few kicks aimed by others.  I thought one of the boot swingers was Martin Dugard but it happened so quick it might have been someone else similarly dressed.

The comments made pre-meeting over the mic by Jon Cook, Dugard and the announcer wound things up definitely tho and i even said to the person i was with, that Craig Cook is unstable at the best of times and i forecast some kind of kick off with him at some point.  That some point was about a minute later tho which was a bit quicker than i figured tho.

No idea what went on with Cook and his 2 mins exclusion but instead of perhaps winning his first and shutting the crowd up for a bit, by the time he came out the meeting was pretty much gone. it was as if the whole team had lost their nerve and the tie was a dead duck very early really.  

Lovely day in general tho - fish and chips, ice cream, few lagers and the speedway all made for a good day out.

Kudos to the glasgow fans who travelled - and also very sane words from their promoter chap who spoke and spoke well after the meeting.

I was a neutral tonight and loved every minute of it tho.  

 

 

 

Funny you should mention Martin sugars as he got himself involved in the scrap that happened in the Edinburgh match also. Slammed one of the Edinburgh mechanics to the ground who was trying to pull them apart and then pinned him to the ground by the throat. 

[Solidmango]

Whilst a lot are laying the blame at Cook’s door, can anyone explain why an Eastbourne track staff member was ejected from the stadium? 

 

And also exactly what Peter Facenna said? 

[Mr Blobby]

8 hours ago, SharpenRake said:

What a load of tosh. What the Tigers management will have learned is what a good track preparation team they have, what a good professional announcer they have, what a good set of fans they have who applaud opposing riders for there efforts. The Tigers reputation is earned by the product they put on at Ashfield - riders, staff, volunteers and fans. The team have tried to entertain on there travels on a variety of tracks, surfaces and shapes. We lost tonight - most Glasgow fans predicted it including myself - so well done to the Eastbourne riders and I stress the riders. Reading various posts the promoter, track staff and announcer don't appear to be blameless and some of the eagles fans should be ashamed of themselves. 

Tonight the Tigers management also learned another approach to speedway as they were up against an old hand in the promotion game - he made sure that the track, the track staff and the fans got into Tigers riders heads. So the owners will have also learned who coped with the aggravation and intimidation and who didn't. They should now ensure that the riders be made aware that these things happen and other teams will produce crap tracks and all the other things that can influence a result  and learn to stay focussed and deal with it.

That’s it Glasgow are all about entertainment and not winning. Nonsense.

you prepare a surface to suit your own team, everyone does so to say that you don’t is again nonsense.

Ashfield isn’t exactly the friendliest of places, had a good few numpties looking for bother on the 4th bend and seen a good few hand gestures being made down the main stand. However every track has them. Never mind the heavy handed stewards these days either.

[parkendlass]

7 hours ago, SharpenRake said:

No idea. By the way how did the bandits do tonight hope that beat the pesky bears.

Those " pesky Bears", shattered Berwicks year long unbeaten home record.  UTB !! Sorry to disappoint you.

[Weeyin]

7 hours ago, Richard Weston said:

Craig Cook should be shown the door by Glasgow...even if it means not winning the league.

Sport would be better without him

You really have a thing against Craig Cook, yes he was in the wrong and will surely pay a price for his actions. He is not the only rider to have lost the plot and acted as he did, but to say that sport would be better without him is nonsense. 

[phillipsr]

14 minutes ago, dorothy58 said:

You really have a thing against Craig Cook, yes he was in the wrong and will surely pay a price for his actions. He is not the only rider to have lost the plot and acted as he did, but to say that sport would be better without him is nonsense. 

Wouldnt be a loss either... incredible arrogance from such an average rider. 

[Solidmango]

27 minutes ago, Richard Weston said:

Mr Facenna said sorry -- he said it on the PA system.

Not much doubt where the cause of the trouble was. He was there, saw it and apologised.

 

You say not much doubt where the cause of the trouble was but the only person ejected from the stadium was a member of the Arlington track staff? 

[Tellitasitis]

3 hours ago, jenga said:

that will be the fire extinquisher that saves lives in the event of a fire then . 

That will be the one set off when there’s no fire 

*edited* I was referring to the sacking of Joe Lawlor when he set off a fire alarm  I said fire extinguisher in error

Edited August 4, 2019 by Tellitasitis

[Fingersfin]

33 minutes ago, Richard Weston said:

Mr Facenna said sorry -- he said it on the PA system.

Not much doubt where the cause of the trouble was. He was there, saw it and apologised.

 

I think you’ll find what Peter said was that emotions were clearly running high at the start of the meeting and that on behalf of his club, he apologised for whatever part Glasgow played in the incident. He didn’t apportion blame and it’s wrong to suggest he did.

It's Eastbourne, you are famous for noising up the opposition. Job done. 

Congratulations on making the Final. 

Edited August 4, 2019 by Fingersfin

[Hunters]

8 hours ago, stevec said:

Just got home from the meeting.

Going to 'try' and put an unbiased veiw on the meeting. Yes, I am an Eastbourne fan but I like to think I am pretty pragmatic and not afrais to say if our riders are out of orsder or if the track is not up to standard

Got there tonight ready for a cracking meeting and feeling a little nervous despite only having a 4 point deficit. First thing I heard that there was issues was when the announcer said that the away team had complained about the track and did not want to ride it. There were several people down on turn 2 discussing and kicking dirt around so to speak.

Then Jon Cook was interveiwed, he was seriously annoyed and dismayed that the fotness of the track and been called into question and clearly put the blame on Craig Cook (and his mates). At this stage I has no ill feelings about Glasgow or Craig Cook. I am no expert and certainly, I am not one to judge if the track is rideable by veiwing it from turn 1, on the stock car track, which is where I stand.

 

That started to turn a bit when Martin Dugard explained that Jason and Alfi had been practising on the track that day. I must admit, I was less than impressed when we were told there would be a delay as the Glasgow riders had not yet changed. But still, no real drama.

It was on the rider parade that it all started going a bit sour. For those of you that dont know, the way it done at Eastbourne is, the bikes are wheeled on to the track, then the riders are paraded out to 'Sussex by the Sea' and then introduced one by one, the away team first. This all takes place on the back straight as thats where the main stand is. When both teams have been announced, the riders are pushed off and have a few practice starts and the opputunity to slide into the turns to get a feel for the track.

Tonight, after the Glasgow riders had been announced, some of them pushed off, before the Eastbourne team had been announced. They came down the straight and into turn . With people still on the track and the infield (including kids, who are the Eagles mascots)  the track staff held out red flags to stop the Glasgow riders. Craig Cook ran straight into one of the track staff and then kicked off at him. Ot then all kicked off with several people involved.

My lad went round the pits to see what was going on and saw people pleading with Craig to go and ride heat 1. He was refusing, talking about his injury and saying why should he ride an unsafe track!

So, heat 1 started without him.

As much as I feel he should be banned from the whole meeting, thats not what I want. I pay my money to see the likes of Bomber, Scotty and Craig Cook riding. I love them all, they are Brits and I support British riders through and through.

The track rode fine. Even the reserves in heat 2 looked comfortable and were not struggling, Yes, there were some fallers but certainly was not more than you can often get. Someone on the updates site said its unusual to see 3 falls in 9 heats, really? I have seen 3 in one heat at times, and not just at Arlington. And Ed Kennet did not fall. He tagged the air fence riding a high line, stayed on and carried on, the air fence started to deflate and the race stopped, thats why he was excluded.

Craig Cook, when he finally took to the track, rode it fine and looked classy and smooth. The races that he did not gate were the races of the night as he looked brilliant trying to make the pass.

It was a real shame that the controversy ruined the night as it was great for Eastbourne to go through but I feel Glasgow were just deflated after the whole thing, it was really meeting over after a few races. Could have been so much better if Craig Cook had popped out and won heat one.

I always think there are two sides to everything but the Glasgow manager having the guts to go on the mic and apologise afetr the meeting said it all and hats off to him for doing so.

 

Good report I was stood not far from you and would only add the following points:-

Kennett came out in heat one and rode this claimed 'unrideable track' in only .6 of a second slower than the fastest time this year, which was also over 1.0 second faster than when Cook won the equivalent heat during Glasgow's success in the league match in May. When Cook did come out and win  in heat five he was faster than that ride in May.  The races between Cook and  Kennet/Lawson were superb on this alleged bad track.

Only 3 Glasgow riders rode round during the introduction, being  lead by Cook were No,s 3 and 6 (Vissing and Bickley). The other three stayed where they were and were not involved in that particular incident.

Vissing's bike packed up on the start line when the two minute warning was on, by the time he got it started the time was up and he was not ready to race. when he saw the Yellow exclusion light he petulantly went full throttle through the tapes.  Hope the referee reports this and he gets fined.

 

[Bandit59]

So we won't expect to see Cookie at Berwick next week? 

[Endeavour]

A lot being said by a lot of people who weren’t there, I include my self in that.

A firmer and more experienced referee perhaps should have nipped this in the bud at track parade.

re announcer, no one was a bigger stirrer in his time than Michael Max ( stand in Tigers team manager) when he was on mike at Ashfield although he was one of the best when engaging with riders. 

I am a great fan of Cookie but if what many has said is true he has to take responsibility and take his punishment. It has been a very challenging few weeks since SON but there can be NO excuses for the alleged behaviour. Maybe needs to take a step back and take stock of things (this decision could obviously be made for him) If his wrist is causing him problems should have withdrawn from SON that weekend and immobilised the wrist for 8 to 10 days which seems to be the treatment for a broken carpal bone.

Great rider when in the blue n gold. So sad to see this.

 

 

[Spl77]

I was witness to the criag cook factor at Ipswich last season. No over heated fisty Cuffs that night as he got his way &, the meeting was called off. Same scenario though Glasgow riders not changed and a conference on the track.

He really is getting far to big for his boots. 

[Triple.H.]

10 hours ago, stevec said:

That wasnit the only race that happened either. Its a rule at Arlo that bikes cannot be ridden through the pits and they have to dismount before heading through

Think thats the rule at every British track, i have seen plenty of people riding both in and out of the pits. Is the no mobile phones in the pits rule still in force ? As thats another one thats constantly ignored.